Kingdom Hearts forced Naughty Dog to go "oh sh*t" while making Jak 2, because Square Enix's character models were so much more detailed that the platformer devs had to change course
Oct. 15, 2024The rework just “made sense”
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According to a formerNaughty Dogdeveloper,Kingdom Heartsplayed a role in the studio’s development of its beloved action-adventure sequelJak 2.
Speaking in a recentposton the matter, Scherr reveals how Kingdom Hearts prompted Jak 2 devs to stop using the same character models seen during gameplay in cutscenes. In the first Jak and Daxter, he says Naughty Dog “used the same character models for both gameplay & cutscenes (Daxter didn’t have fully articulated fingers).” While making Jak 2, the studio “saw early screenshots of Kingdom Hearts” and “went ‘oh shit.'”
That’s when they opted to create “high-res models for cutscenes” - and “still did it without visible loading!” Scherr then shows an eye-opening before and after comparison of Jak 2’s cutscene models, along with a screenshot of how Tarzan appeared in Kingdom Hearts’ own. “Graphic fidelity was a big selling point in the PS2 era,” he explains," much more so than now, so making the pivot to more detailed models made sense."
The changes are undeniably apparent - just look at how smooth everything appears to be in the screenshot featuring the reworked cutscene models. The new ones certainly give off a far less “low-poly” vibe than the original models did, although I’d be lying if I said I don’t find them all charming. I’m just excited to learn that two of my favorite throwback games have some sort of connection - an arguably wholesome one, at that.
Love a good throwback? Here are some of thebest retro gamesof all time.
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she’s not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she’s probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she’s spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you’ll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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